Runners

[marco23d]

I gotta take my phone with me every time. Too many close calls with poop to leave it at home and risk not being able to call my wife to pick me up and bring a towel. But like Nik, I leave it in the running belt

[Crispy Heron]

@marco23d @Nik @Dmart - thanks all. May try the belt option although all the belts I have looked at don’t take bigger phones. Oh, and will look further into a running watch.

[Nik]

I like my Fenix 7X sapphire solar. Used to have a 965 but doing longer distances now and still charmed by mips screens.

[Eza]

@Crispy-Heron there are a few it depends on what you want your watch to do if you are looking for split and total time and heart rate you can go with a Forerunner 265 if you want a more budget-friendly you can try the Forerunner 55.

If you do trail running or endurance you might want to go for 7X Pro Sapphire Solar (crazy battery life due to solar charging and awesome topo maps and navigation)

[Eza]

@Crispy-Heron also you can always go with the Apple Watch Ultra I have the series 1 ultra and it is amazing the 2 has more nits on the screen and a few other bells

[Eza]

@marco23d Ultra watch would solve that issue

[goosehd]

My only, but biggest gripe with the Apple watch is that it will not read/work with my tattoos. I have full tattoo sleeves that stop just above the wrist. It will not work where my watch tends to sit normally and to get around it, I have to wear the watch lower on my wrist which is quite uncomfortable for long periods.

I don't know if Garmin is any better, but I will not be buying another Apple smartwatch because of it.

[Nik]

@goosehd This is an ongoing issue, and actually it is not only those with tattoos, but also people with darker skin can have issues with optical heart rate monitors. Many use a chest strap for workouts. I do even though I'm white without wrist tattoos, for workouts where I want reliable HR data the chest strap is just much more accurate.

[goosehd]

@Nik I have my chest strap but haven't used it for running and may do that this weekend. Thank you!

Does it provide any of the VO2, oxygen, etc.?

[Nik]

@goosehd I should have been more clear: connect the chest strap to the watch so that the watch reads HR from the strap rather than the optical sensor. The watch will use that to compute VO2.

[goosehd]

@Nik Thank you! Just finished a quick 6 km and will do that for tomorrow's run. Also wanted to thank you for your previous suggestions on training programs, etc. I completely understand what you guys mean by junk miles now.

Training with a purpose and goals make's everything much more efficient (albeit more painful on some days).

[goosehd]

Random question for you guys: What is your average SPM (Steps Per Minute)? I'm currently around 165 and trying to get up to 170. Doing high knees and other related exercises to pick up a little more speed, but wonder where you guys are at.

[Nik]

That's a pretty high cadence, my average over the last year is 154.
I hear coaches talking about having your feet land right below your body rather than in front to increase cadence.

[goosehd]

@Nik That’s what I’ve been trying to do. I’ve always been a heel striker and to date…not had an issue.

[Nik]

Current thinking seems to be that heel striking is ok. The barefoot running trend and forefoot strike trend was replaced by two things, one, high stack super shoes where it works to heel strike and two, people being more open to different running form for different bodies.

[Dmart]

@Nik But even a 965 will get you through a long distance if your at 12ish hours right?

[Dmart]

@goosehd depends on the pace but typically between 170 and 185. more steps equal to less energy/VO2 used but it’s as well personal preference and depending on your gait.

[Nik]

@Dmart After a year my 965 wouldn't do that long, but what I am currently training for is longer

[Dmart]

@Nik oh wow, that’s disappointing. I was thinking of upgrading from my 955 due to the screen. My 955 will easily do 12hours.

[Crispy Heron]

@goosehd - I ordered an Ultra 2 yesterday then read your message. I don’t have sleeve tattoos so here’s hoping….